Duncan Todd (played by Patrick Fischler) in Twin Peaks Season 3 on Showtime was an associate of Mr. C. He appeared in Parts 2, 6, 10, 13, and 15, and was often seen siting behind a desk in a spacious, modern office overlooking “Las Vegas.” As it turns out, his office scenes were filmed in the heart of downtown Los Angeles in an iconic art deco-inspired building.
Duncan Todd’s office was shot in the historic Los Angeles Times Building located at 1st and Spring Streets in downtown Los Angeles, California. Designed by Gordon B. Kaufmann, this building opened in 1935, and “at the time was the largest building in the western U.S. designed and occupied entirely as a daily newspaper publishing operation.”
How did I identify the film location? I was searching for “office film locations in downtown Los Angeles” and found a link to the Los Angeles Times Square Film Office.
The website listed a variety of film locations available inside the downtown building. I clicked on “Offices” and immediately recognized the space where Duncan Todd’s office was staged.
The buildings seen outside Duncan Todd’s windows were the biggest clue to identifying the location. Additionally there is a light fixture on the ceiling that is seen in some shots from the show.
This aerial view indicates location of Duncan Todd’s office and which buildings are seen in the background.
I’ve been unable to locate a reference photo for a reverse shot of Duncan Todd’s office seen in Part 13.
One final note about his office comes from the outstanding Welcome to Twin Peaks website. Pieter Dom tweeted on June 13, 2017 that the lamp seen in Duncan Todd’s office was actually designed by David Lynch.
The lamp was designed in 2002 and was shown at Art Los Angeles Contemporary from January 26-29, 2017 at the Kayne Griffin Corcoran gallery booth. The gallery displayed of 46 works on paper and two mixed media sculptures by David Lynch.
According to Christopher Michno from Riot Material , the lamp titled Douglas Fir Top Lamp #1 is “loosely figurative, with slits machined from the front facing panel that give the lamp a human-like visage.”
